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Heinz Dürr celebrates his 85th birthday

07/13/2018

Bietigheim-Bissingen, July 13, 2018 – On July 16, Heinz Dürr will celebrate his 85th birthday. The entrepreneur is Honorary Chairman of the Dürr AG Supervisory Board. Together with his family, he is the anchor shareholder, with 29 % of the shares in the company, which his grandfather founded in 1895. Heinz Dürr joined the family business in 1957. With him at the helm, Dürr became a leading mechanical and plant engineering firm, combining the Swabian SME spirit with innovative strength and global business. Heinz Dürr became well-known throughout Germany as a negotiator for metalworking industry employers, Chairman of the AEG Board of Management, head of Deutsche Bahn and Commissioner of the Carl Zeiss Foundation.

Heinz Dürr was born in Stuttgart in 1933. After finishing secondary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a steel fitter and then went on to study mechanical engineering. His first stop in the family business journey was the engineering department. His father, Otto Dürr, was Managing Director at the time, while his mother, Betty, was respected as the 'commercial conscience'. After the war, Dürr underwent great changes: the sheet-metal working specialist became an industrial company, focusing on equipment engineering and surface processing. The foundation stone for Dürr's current position as a world-market leader was laid by its surface and paint systems business.

At the age of 27, Heinz Dürr joined the management team. Business with the automotive industry was expanded. The owner's son boldly forged ahead with the company's internationalization. In 1964, the first foreign subsidiary was established in Brazil. Under the management of 'HD', Dürr built the first complete car body paint shop for Volkswagen in São Paulo. Further companies were founded in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Mexico, the United States, South Africa, India and China, among other countries. Together with his wife Heide, Heinz Dürr gave the corporate culture a modern edge. Dürr was one of the first industrial companies with an employee newsletter, a library, art in the buildings as well as theater and concert performances in the factory.

In 1975, at the proposal of Hanns-Martin Schleyer, Heinz Dürr became Chairman of the Employers' Association for the Metal Industry of North Baden / North Württemberg. He negotiated innovative collective bargaining agreements with Franz Steinkühler, head of the metalworkers' union IG-Metall; the strike in 1978 that had lasted several weeks had nationwide significance.

AEG, Deutsche Bahn and Carl Zeiss FoundationIn 1980, Heinz Dürr stepped down as CEO of his company and became head of the ailing electrical company AEG. Aside from the entrepreneurial challenge, it was AEG's technological potential that appealed to him. The surprising move had been initiated by the then head of Bosch, Hans Lutz Merkle. Heinz Dürr guided AEG through a settlement and brought it under the control of Daimler-Benz AG in 1985, where he joined the Board of Management in 1986.

In 1990, Heinz Dürr floated his family business on the stock market as Dürr AG. The proceeds were used to acquire application technology specialist Behr, which went on to become Dürr's successful painting robot division.

In 1991, at the request of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Heinz Dürr took over as CEO of Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railway) – a job in the public eye, as had been the case with AEG. As part of the railway reform, he promoted the merger between Bundesbahn and the East German Reichsbahn and its transformation from a state-owned group into the service company Deutsche Bahn AG. In 1997, the 64-year-old joined the Deutsche Bahn AG's Supervisory Board and was its Chairman until 1999. From 1999 to 2003, Heinz Dürr was Commissioner of the Carl Zeiss Foundation. The reform he led there also proved very successful.

The company as a social eventThe self-perception of Heinz Dürr, as an entrepreneur who focuses on the common good, goes back to Ernst Abbe and Walter Rathenau, the historic business figures at Zeiss and AEG. Heinz Dürr’s reference points also include the former head of Deutsche Bank, Hermann Josef Abs, and the philosopher Odo Marquard. His economic thinking revolves around the notion of the "company as a social event". A company has a responsibility toward its employees and society. "It must deliver proper products and services which society needs. It should look after the people in the company and make sure that those who give the company money receive a decent return." Profit is not an end in itself, "but it is necessary to prevent the company from becoming a burden, usually to the tax payer."

Heinz Dürr sees himself as a committed SME-entrepreneur. To him, SME means "personal instead of technocratic leadership. The company boss knows his staff and talks to them". In keeping with his Swabian mentality, Dürr always advises his employees to be modest. "Those who think they are somebody will stop becoming somebody."

From 1990 to 2013, Heinz Dürr was Chairman of the Dürr AG Supervisory Board. Since 2006, Prof. Dr. Dr. Alexandra Dürr, one of Heinz and Heide Dürr’s three daughters, has represented the family, which holds a 29 % share, on the Supervisory Board. Being Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Heinz Dürr stays in close contact with the company. From his base in Berlin, the entrepreneur often visits various locations in Germany and abroad. His advice is still in demand today.

In 1998, the entrepreneur and his wife set up a foundation, Heinz und Heide Dürr Stiftung, based on Section 14 of the German Constitution: "Property entails obligations. Its use shall also serve the public good." The foundation focuses mainly on science and research, early education and German-speaking theater.

Being an avid reader, Heinz Dürr admires the Austrian author Thomas Bernhard, and has written two books himself: "In der ersten Reihe – Aufzeichnungen eines Unerschrockenen" (In the front row – notes from a dauntless man) and "Über das Alter – Ein Gespräch mit Cato über Jugendwahn, Weisheit und Vergänglichkeit" (Talking about age – a conversation with Cato on the obsession with youth, on wisdom and on transience). In his books, he reflects – sometimes tongue in cheek – on his career and on getting older. Heinz Dürr, whose office is on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt square, is as attached to Germany's capital as he is to his Swabian home province.

The Dürr Group is one of the world's leading mechanical and plant engineering firms with extensive expertise in automation and digitization/Industry 4.0. Products, systems and services offered by the Group enable highly efficient manufacturing processes in different industries. Dürr supplies sectors like the automotive industry, the mechanical engineering, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and the woodworking industry. The company has 92 business locations in 31 countries. The Group generated sales of € 3.71 billion in 2017. Dürr has around 15,000 employees and operates in the market with five divisions:

Paint and Final Assembly Systems: paint shops and final assembly systems for the automotive industry

Application Technology: robot technologies for the automated application of paint, sealants and adhesives

Measuring and Process Systems: balancing equipment as well as assembly, testing and filling technology

Woodworking Machinery and Systems: machinery and equipment for the woodworking industry

This publication has been prepared independently by Dürr AG/Dürr group (“Dürr”). It may contain statements which address such key issues as strategy, future financial results, events, competitive positions and product developments. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, but not limited to those described in Dürr's disclosures, in particular in the chapter “Risks” in Dürr's annual report. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties and other factors materialize, or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performances or achievements of Dürr may vary materially from those described in the relevant forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “want,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” “will,” “project” or words of similar meaning. Dürr neither intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise its forward-looking statements regularly in light of developments which differ from those anticipated. Stated competitive positions are based on management estimates supported by information provided by specialized external agencies.

Our financial reports, presentations, press releases and ad-hoc releases may include alternative financial metrics. These metrics are not defined in the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). Dürr's net assets, financial position and results of operations should not be assessed solely on the basis of these alternative financial metrics. Under no circumstances do they replace the performance indicators presented in the consolidated financial statements and calculated in accordance with the IFRS. The calculation of alternative financial metrics may vary from company to company despite the use of the same terminology. Further information regarding the alternative financial metrics used at Dürr can be found in our financial glossary on the Dürr web page.